Official statistics show there were more incidents a decade ago

"Air rage" is a recently-coined term for people on airliners who go a little crazy, cause a disturbance, and sometimes pose a threat to other passengers and crew members. It seems each week brings another story about it.

Just last week a passenger aboard a Spirit Airlines flight reportedly stripped naked during the boarding process. This was before the flight had even left the ground. In another case, a young passenger reportedly tried to open the emergency door once the...

It's time for airlines to stop bullying passengers, lawyer asserts

Thomas Demetrio, attorney for Dr. David Dao, the United Airlines passenger forcibly removed from a flight Sunday, has laid out his case against the airline.

At a news conference in Chicago, Demetrio accused United, and airlines generally, of "bullying" their customers. But he said the case of his client, the subject of a video that by now may have been viewed by everyone in the world, goes beyond the pale.

Though only certain business travelers will be able to take advantage of it

Nobody likes being delayed or late, especially travelers that have to make connecting flights in other cities. But worry not! United Airlines will be guaranteeing on-time arrivals for its future customers. . . well, for a select few of its customers, anyway.

The company has announced a new reliability guarantee for its business and corporate travelers, saying that it will get them to their destinations on time. If it isn't able to follow through on this promise, these tr...

Your first step should be to ask for a written explanation of the bumping policy

The outrage directed against United Airlines' handling of Dr. David Dao, on a flight from Chicago to Louisville, has been building for nearly a week.

On Sunday, Dao refused to give up his seat to a United Airlines employee who needed to get to Louisville, and his attorney says he was severely injured when security personnel dragged him off the plane in front of dozens of smartphone-wielding passengers who recorded the incident and spread it around the world.

American reportedly ups the ante for bumped passengers

United Airlines' costly public relations disaster has caused several airlines to re-evaluate policies on how they deal with passengers, according to various published reports citing internal company memos.

Notably, United took the first step, reportedly advising company employees that they are not to involuntarily remove a ticketed passenger to provide room for a United employee in the future.

That's what happened eight days ago, when a 69-year old physician was forcibly ...

The airline continued to struggle through the weekend to get its planes back in the sky

Delta Airlines and its customers had a nightmarish weekend, a holdover from the severe weather that battered the Southeast during the middle of last week.

Flight cancellations continued to affect operations through the weekend. The company said things are beginning to stabliize, but it reported that flight crew availability continued to hamper operations because not enough people were within the federally mandated crew rest and duty day guidelines.

Witnesses say the flight attendant hit a mother holding a baby with a stroller

Just two weeks after United Airlines set off a social media firestorm by forcibly removing a passenger from a flight, American Airlines finds itself in damage control mode as well.

According to several passengers who were in the process of boarding American Airlines Flight 591 at San Francisco, a male flight attendant grabbed a stroller from a female passenger who was in the process of boarding, while holding her small child.

On-time arrival rates were higher and cancellation rates were down

Air travelers, it appears, were a pretty content bunch in early spring.

According to the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Air Travel Consumer Report there were just 1,122 complaints about service from consumers -- down 21.5% from a month earlier and off 20.9% from the same month the year before.

The carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 84.5%, an improvement from March's 81.5% mark and April 2015's 81.8% on-time rate. As far as cancellations go, just 0.9% of sche...

Travelers will be sorted into one of nine groups under the new policy

The airline industry has gone through some changes as of late, the most notable being the inclusion of a “basic economy fare.” While Southwest recently derided the fare as being a “huge mistake,” companies like Delta, United, and American Airlines have all jumped on the bandwagon.

Now, American has announced an update to its boarding process that will take the new fare into account. The company says that starting March 1, boarding groups will no longer be called by their...

Estimated traffic is up 4% this spring

With an improving economy, you can expect the nation's airports to be more crowded this spring.

Airlines For America (A4A), a trade group representing U.S. airlines, estimates 145 million passengers will fly on U.S.-based carriers between March 1 and April 30. That amounts to nearly 2.4 million a day and would represent a 4% increase over last year.

“There has never been a better time to fly, as evidenced by the record levels of traffic U.S. airlines saw in 2016 and will ...

Meanwhile, a recent rash of cancellations leads to brawls between travelers

It’s been a pretty rough stretch for Spirit Airlines over the past week. CNN reports that the company has canceled over 300 flights in the past seven days, and tensions among travelers are beginning to boil over.

On Monday, a brawl involving consumers and airline staff took place at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after passengers on nine canceled flights angrily approached the front ticket counter, cutting in front of others who were waiting in line. Dep...

That's when United Airlines summoned Chicago airport police to forcibly remove a passenger on a Louisville bound flight after he refused to give up his seat to a United employee. Video of the incident was recorded by numerous passengers, sparking world-wide outrage.

Since then airlines have been subjected to intense scrutiny by passengers, fed up with the often unpleasant rigors of today's commercial air travel. Every e...

While officials don't expect a shutdown, delays may be prominent for holiday travel

It might be a tumultuous Thanksgiving week for O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Yesterday, labor leaders at the airport said that “hundreds” of low-wage workers voted to strike and may not show up this coming week, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

Around 2,000 non-unionized workers – including baggage handlers, security officers, caterers, and cleaners -- voted on the course of action in protest of unsafe working conditions, unpaid overtime, and retaliation ag...

Travelers taking a transcontinental flight may be treated to a free meal on an upcoming trip

At the beginning of the month, we reported the results of a study by New York’s Hunter College that assessed which airlines had the best food. While Virgin America took top honors, Delta Airlines came in a close second for its low-calorie and vegan options.

While having high marks on food quality is nice, many fliers today must pay extra for an in-flight meal if they’re flying coach and going on a long flight. However, Delta has recently said that it will be testing comp...

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